Lynge, B. (1928). Lichens from Novaya Zemlya. Brogger.
Thallus 60-80 mm, broad, areolate, areolae thin, separate, rarely subdiscrete, plane or slightly convex, angular or rounded, hypothallus black, thick, areolate-broken, rugose appressed or also subimmersed. Areolae smooth, epruinose, margin usually surrounded by & covered with a white powder. Narrow zone of thallus surrounded by hypothallus.
Apothecia dispersed, but numerous, large, diam. up to 35 mm, appressed or subimmersed. Disc persistently plane, black, epruinose, often umbonate, radiately rugose and margin persistent, elevated, black, rounded-lobate, seemingly united (= in Lecidea auriculata). Excipulum likewise with hypothecium p.p. hyaline, p.p. obscure, other plants darker, dark brown/grayish-brown/blackish-brown. Hymenium 80-100 µ tall, narrow, intensely blackish-brown or sometimes green/greenish-blue-blackish brown. Paraphyses closely coherent, thin, slightly thicker at apex. Asci narrowly clavate, 10-12 µ thick, often very numerous, 8-spored. Spores narrowly oblong, 7-11 X 4-5 µ.
Pycnidia not seen.
Medulla I not blue, KOH intensely blood red, crystals precipitated fasciculately. Hymenium I intensely blue, gelatin then wine-coloured; asci dirty black, hymenium KOH not blood red. Medulla CaCl2O2 unchanged.
var. opaca
Areolae opaque, dark, almost black, hypothecium pale-coloured to hyaline.
var. nitida
Areolae shiny, chestnut-coloured, hypothecium obscure, dark brownish grayish blackish.
Its habitus is very like Lecidea paupercula, apart of [sic] its large apothecia, but it is sufficiently distinct from all the species of that tribus by its medullary reaction with J, which is entirely negative, i.e. not blue.—Its habitus also suggests some affinity to Lecidea fuscoatra, but its hypothecium is too pale for that tribus. In var. nitida I found a dark lower part of the excipulum and some dark broad lines projecting from the excipulum into the thallus itself. The hypothecium was pale brown, but if KOH was added, it lost its colour entirely (the brown colour was evidently due to air?). Var. nitida had a brown hypothecium, persistently so, even if KOH was added. Investigations on more material must decide whether this difference is sufficient for specific distinction.
It is difficult to find a place in any of the Lecidea sections for this species. For the present I will place it near Lecidea aenea, in spite of its black apothecia.
I am not convinced that TH. M. FRIES’s section Stirps “Lecideae leucophaeae” (TH. M. FRIES Lich., Scand. pag. 457) is natual, in spite of the important conformity of the pycnoconidia.Lecidea aenea and the allied species here described, and the species of the sections Lecideae atrobrunneae and Lecideae fuscoatrae have many characters in common.The different reaction with J is excellent for specific distinction, but it places in different sections species that appear related.